hardware to capture old Hi8 Mini DV VHS video tapes

ciao a tutti , sono possessore da pochi giorni di davinci resolve studio 19, vorrei sapere che hw potrei utilizzare acquistare in abbinamento al programma per catturare vecchi nastri video hi8 mini dv vhs
tramite presa svideo e fire wire 1394 , logicamente e' sottointeso di disporre da parte mia del player lettore - video registratore telecamera , quello che chiedo e' l'interfaccia di acquisizione di questi video e se e' possibile gestirli in fase di cattura video direttamente da davinci resolve ?
o in caso contrario catturare i video da quale software e interfaccia per poi poterli gestire successivamente da davinci resolve ?
un altra cosa di fondamentale importanza su come migliorare la qualita' di questi filmati una volta importati in davinci resolve come gestire il rumore il dettaglio e l'upscaler e il cambio di aspect ratio e qualsiasi altra cosa che possa risultare utile a queste conversioni e reastalyng delle immagini come ridargli vita a dimenticavo anche il miglioramento dei colori e la stabilizzazione video.
penso che questa cosa possa essere utilissima a tutti, chi fra noi ha delle vecchie cassette nastri ricordi rinchiusi negli armadi che avrebbe piacere di rivedere al meglio grazie alla tecnologia che abbiamo la fortuna di avere fra le mani ai giorni nostri.
pensiamo a certi film del passato del cinema che sono stati risistemati addirittura in 4k/8k che e' meraviglioso poter rivedere e rivivere.
la mia idea e' quella di una volta ricuperato i vecchi filmati vedi:
betamax - video hi8 - vhs - svhs - mini dv di sistemarli tagliarli montarli e pubblicarli sul mio canale youtube studio in modalita privata in modo tale che sono presenti a nessuno al di fuori di me o da chi avra' il link di condivisione .
questa cosa e' fattibile e addirittura in modo illimitato su youtube.
fatemi sapere cosa ne pensate in generale e fatemi sapere se ci sono dei video tutorial da seguire per effettuare quanto vi ho descritto ?
parliamo di :
riduzione del rumore - stabilizzazione video - correzione colori - miglioramenti generali - cambio formato - uplscaler 4k e altre cose che mi sono dimenticato e che potrebbero essere utili.
mi e' venuta un idea , ma non so se e' possibile farlo direttamente con davinci e quella che una volta impotato il video catturato estrapolare i singoli frame in una sequenza di jpeg e gestire la riduzione del rumore con i plugin d'intelligenza artificiale capaci di fare cose impensabili come riduzione del rumore e upscaling come alcun tools come quelli di topaz .
in alternativa per estrapolare le immagini jpeg dal file video si potrebbe usare il tool gratuito shutter encoder e gestire i files fotografici in un ulteriore tools per la riduzione del rumore e upscaling , non so se questo e' possibile farlo con davinci resolve studio ?
se questo fosse possibile realizzarlo con davinci si potrebbe studiare un potente script capace di automatizzare alcuni processi e l'interfacciamento dei tools , a mio avviso verrebbe fuori qualcosa di spettacolare , non abbondatemi nell'idea sopratutto da quelli di voi con maggior esperienza e capacita' sarebbe bello poter coinvolgere il team di sviluppo di davinci , con qualche sotto funzione presente anche nell'interfaccia .
so che con gli script alcuni utenti hanno realizzato cose da fantascienza non immaginabili.
mi raccomando non sottovalutate le potenzialita' di quanto vi sto chiedendo in particolare il team di sviluppo, a mio avviso sarebbe una funzionalita' pazzesca.
grazie infinite ciao marco.

[Peter Chamberlain]

Marco, as this is an English language forum please translate your post first.
I have done this for you this time using google.
=====
Hi everyone, I have been the owner of Davinci Resolve Studio 19 for a few days, I would like to know which HW I could use to purchase in combination with the program to capture old Hi8 Mini DV VHS video tapes
via svideo socket and 1394 fire wire, it is logically understood that I have the player reader - video recorder camera, what I ask is the interface for acquiring these videos and whether it is possible to manage them directly during video capture da davinci resolve ?

or otherwise capture the videos from which software and interface and then be able to manage them later from davinci resolve?

another thing of fundamental importance on how to improve the quality of these videos once imported into davinci resolve how to manage the noise, the detail and the upscaler and the change of aspect ratio and anything else that may be useful for these conversions and reastalyng of images how to bring them back to life and I also forgot about color enhancement and video stabilization.

I think this thing could be very useful to everyone, those of us who have old cassette tapes and memories locked up in closets that we would like to see again at their best thanks to the technology that we are lucky enough to have in our hands nowadays.

let's think of certain films from the past of cinema that have even been rearranged in 4k/8k which is wonderful to be able to see again and relive.

my idea is that once the old videos have been recovered, see:
betamax - video hi8 - vhs - svhs - mini dv to arrange them, cut them, mount them and publish them on my youtube studio channel in private mode so that they are present to no one except me or whoever has the sharing link.

this thing is feasible and even unlimited on YouTube.
let me know what you think in general and let me know if there are any video tutorials to follow to do what I described?

let's talk about:
noise reduction - video stabilization - color correction - general improvements - format changer - 4k uplscaler and other things that I forgot that might be useful.

I had an idea, but I don't know if it's possible to do it directly with davinci and that once the captured video has been set, extrapolate the individual frames in a jpeg sequence and manage the noise reduction with capable artificial intelligence plugins to do unthinkable things like noise reduction and upscaling like any tools like those of Topaz.

alternatively, to extrapolate the jpeg images from the video file you could use the free shutter encoder tool and manage the photographic files in an additional tool for noise reduction and upscaling, I don't know if this is possible to do with davinci resolve studio?


if this were possible to achieve with davinci we could study a powerful script capable of automating some processes and the interfacing of tools, in my opinion something spectacular would come out, don't spoil the idea especially for those of you with greater experience and ability it would be nice to be able to involve the davinci development team, with some sub-functions also present in the interface.
I know that some users have created unimaginable science fiction things with scripts.
Please don't underestimate the potential of what I'm asking of you, especially the development team, in my opinion it would be a crazy feature.

thank you so much, hello Marco.

Marco, as this is an English language forum please translate your post first.
I have done this for you this time using google.

sorry and thank for all.
bye marco

Marco, as this is an English language forum please translate your post first.
I have done this for you this time using google.
=====
Hi everyone, I have been the owner of Davinci Resolve Studio 19 for a few days, I would like to know which HW I could use to purchase in combination with the program to capture old Hi8 Mini DV VHS video tapes
via svideo socket and 1394 fire wire, it is logically understood that I have the player reader - video recorder camera, what I ask is the interface for acquiring these videos and whether it is possible to manage them directly during video capture da davinci resolve ?

or otherwise capture the videos from which software and interface and then be able to manage them later from davinci resolve?

another thing of fundamental importance on how to improve the quality of these videos once imported into davinci resolve how to manage the noise, the detail and the upscaler and the change of aspect ratio and anything else that may be useful for these conversions and reastalyng of images how to bring them back to life and I also forgot about color enhancement and video stabilization.

I think this thing could be very useful to everyone, those of us who have old cassette tapes and memories locked up in closets that we would like to see again at their best thanks to the technology that we are lucky enough to have in our hands nowadays.

let's think of certain films from the past of cinema that have even been rearranged in 4k/8k which is wonderful to be able to see again and relive.

my idea is that once the old videos have been recovered, see:
betamax - video hi8 - vhs - svhs - mini dv to arrange them, cut them, mount them and publish them on my youtube studio channel in private mode so that they are present to no one except me or whoever has the sharing link.

this thing is feasible and even unlimited on YouTube.
let me know what you think in general and let me know if there are any video tutorials to follow to do what I described?

let's talk about:
noise reduction - video stabilization - color correction - general improvements - format changer - 4k uplscaler and other things that I forgot that might be useful.

I had an idea, but I don't know if it's possible to do it directly with davinci and that once the captured video has been set, extrapolate the individual frames in a jpeg sequence and manage the noise reduction with capable artificial intelligence plugins to do unthinkable things like noise reduction and upscaling like any tools like those of Topaz.

alternatively, to extrapolate the jpeg images from the video file you could use the free shutter encoder tool and manage the photographic files in an additional tool for noise reduction and upscaling, I don't know if this is possible to do with davinci resolve studio?


if this were possible to achieve with davinci we could study a powerful script capable of automating some processes and the interfacing of tools, in my opinion something spectacular would come out, don't spoil the idea especially for those of you with greater experience and ability it would be nice to be able to involve the davinci development team, with some sub-functions also present in the interface.
I know that some users have created unimaginable science fiction things with scripts.
Please don't underestimate the potential of what I'm asking of you, especially the development team, in my opinion it would be a crazy feature.

thank you so much, hello Marco.

Marco, Eric-Jan had written extensively on this kind of setup and here is my way on how I captured old video tape to digitize them.
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=78838&start=100#p1111808

Correct, in short, it comes down to: a miniDV camcorder, or Digital8 camcorder as passthrough or player to Firewire interface, and use WinDV to make the file/caprure, or on a Mac use Quicktime, change recording setting from webcam to external source for video and audio.

Correct, in short, it comes down to: a miniDV camcorder, or Digital8 camcorder as passthrough or player to Firewire interface, and use WinDV to make the file/caprure, or on a Mac use Quicktime, change recording setting from webcam to external source for video and audio.

hello eric, thank you for replying.
to summarise, on the subject of hardware I will use
a fire wire iee 1394 interface with a small pci express connector to be mounted inside my pc .
once connected the minidv camera to the interface via fire wire cable, i have not understood how to capture the minidv video, with which software to manage it possibly free or even better directly through davinci .
it is of utmost importance for me to understand how to do it and which procedure to follow.
I saw a very interesting video on youtube that talks about some wonderful features introduced in davinci resolve 19.1.3 and a fantastic one that could be used just for our old videos, that of increasing the resolution and upscale it up to 4k improving the detail stabilizing the image colour etc etc.
I think this could be fabulous for our videos.
let me know thanks marco

Like said, use WinDV (free software) to capture. you get a .avi file from that, convert it to ProRes for Davinci.

Like said, use WinDV (free software) to capture. you get a .avi file from that, convert it to ProRes for Davinci.

thanks eric , i use only computer windows 11 it's possible export to prores on windows pc ??

Like said, use WinDV (free software) to capture. you get a .avi file from that, convert it to ProRes for Davinci.

thanks eric , i use only computer windows 11 it's possible export to prores on windows pc ??

it doesn't work on windows 11 i now understand,
this was the only option i know of, sorry,
that's the general problem with video capruring, or use old hardware and OS.

The avi file will work in resolve no need to convert to ProRes. I use Vegas to capture my DV files and the DV avi files work. They will be interlaced of course. It is wishful thinking to get a 4K upscale from early DV consumer camcorder mine of 1991 even upscale to HD is not that good. Closeup is not bad but wide shots will loose all detail as the camcorders then just did not have enough resolution in the recording format.

The avi file will work in resolve no need to convert to ProRes. I use Vegas to capture my DV files and the DV avi files work. They will be interlaced of course. It is wishful thinking to get a 4K upscale from early DV consumer camcorder mine of 1991 even upscale to HD is not that good. Closeup is not bad but wide shots will loose all detail as the camcorders then just did not have enough resolution in the recording format.

ok agreed, but are you already referring to the latest feature introduced in DVR on AI?
If I understand correctly it should significantly improve the old videos at least I hope.
Thanks again

Yes , it is a lot better but I would not say significant. Scaling 2002 shot DV gives a nice improvement but scaling older VHS from 1991 is marginal as there just is not enough information in the source files of that time. I am restricting my upscaling to 1920x1080 as TV's do a good job of upscaling from there anyway.

MY IDEA

It would be very nice to be able to see some of your video conversions, just a few seconds to appreciate the quality by indicating the software and hardware processes used.
I think it could be a good idea and useful to everyone.
greetings thanks Marco

I will try and get a few clips together that do not show my family or friends that are in most of the videos of course. My take a day or so to sort out.

I will try and get a few clips together that do not show my family or friends that are in most of the videos of course. My take a day or so to sort out.

perfect is a fantastic idea.
thanks a lot

I found this short set of clips fast. Original was shot on Sony PC10 camcorder in 2002 at Panorama ski trip. There is the original DV interlaced, one file of Resolve de-interlacing and upscaling to 4K using the NVIDIA 4K setting in clip properties. The other clip is of the same clip de-interlaced to 59.94 fps in TMPGenc MW7 and then scaled to 4K in Resolve again with the NVIDIA 4K preset in clip properties. Really a deinterlacing viewpoint. You need to be careful how you watch these of course since whatever you use to watch will scale !! The source clip of course is 720X486 interlaced 29.97fps or 59.94fields/s. To watch properly would mean watching on a CRT screen as otherwise you are going to be evaluating whatever deinterlacing and scaling the monitor provides.

Latest version of Resolve Studio and NVIDIA studio driver, Win 10 Pro.

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/0m6ud8 ... ling+tests

I will keep up until end of month then take down.

I found this short set of clips fast. Original was shot on Sony PC10 camcorder in 2002 at Panorama ski trip. There is the original DV interlaced, one file of Resolve de-interlacing and upscaling to 4K using the NVIDIA 4K setting in clip properties. The other clip is of the same clip de-interlaced to 59.94 fps in TMPGenc MW7 and then scaled to 4K in Resolve again with the NVIDIA 4K preset in clip properties. Really a deinterlacing viewpoint. You need to be careful how you watch these of course since whatever you use to watch will scale !! The source clip of course is 720X486 interlaced 29.97fps or 59.94fields/s. To watch properly would mean watching on a CRT screen as otherwise you are going to be evaluating whatever deinterlacing and scaling the monitor provides.

Latest version of Resolve Studio and NVIDIA studio driver, Win 10 Pro.

SkierEvans, what can I say, you're incredibly efficient! I've only seen one clip through my Android smartphone so far, but later I'll watch them carefully on a PC and download them to a USB stick to view them not on a CRT TV or monitor anymore, but on smart TVs: an 8-year-old 40-inch Samsung LCD 1080p and a latest-generation 55-inch LG 4K OLED. Analyzing your very interesting forum experience, an interesting exchange emerges about how to convert and improve old analog and digital footage. Here are the main points:

For the necessary hardware:
- The use of a miniDV or Digital8 camera is recommended as a capture device
- A Firewire IEEE 1394 interface is needed (via PCI express for PC)

For software:
- On Windows, WinDV (free) is suggested for initial capture in .avi format
- The .avi file can be imported directly into DaVinci Resolve without needing conversion to ProRes
- For Windows 11, there are some compatibility limitations with older capture software

Regarding quality improvement:
- DaVinci Resolve 19's new AI features can improve old footage but with some limitations
- Better results are obtained with more recent material (e.g., DV from 2002) compared to older formats like VHS from 1991
- Upscaling very old material to 4K gives marginal results due to poor source material quality
- It's recommended to limit upscaling to 1920x1080 since modern TVs already do a good job of upscaling.
I'm also curious about the upscaling behavior of televisions.

This type of practical experience sharing is very useful for understanding the real possibilities of improving old footage.
And the list of all processes performed.
It would also be very interesting to understand how to optimize and
if it's possible to improve video quality with other software settings, etc.
Maybe better and easier-to-use solutions can be discovered.
I'm willing to do it, and it would be nice if other users did it too.
I think that in the end, what really counts is the final result, knowing how it was obtained.
It would also be nice to be able to work with the natively captured clip directly, and then list the procedure used with other programs.
For example, I'd point out a very powerful Windows tool created for free by a French software engineer: see Shutter Encoder, which has multiple possibilities, for example, the ability to extract many single PNG images from the video frame and manage them with other tools for upscaling, noise reduction, and image stabilization.


https://www.shutterencoder.com/documentation/


A similar thought goes to Topaz Video and other AI-based tools.
What do you think?

Optimized Video Restoration Workflow

## 1. Acquisition
- Capture from analog source:
- MiniDV/Digital8 with FireWire for DV material
- High-quality capture card for VHS
- 10-bit sampling if possible
- Acquisition format: Uncompressed AVI or native DV

## 2. Pre-processing
- Deinterlacing (if necessary)
- Aspect ratio correction
- Primary video stabilization
- Basic digital cleanup (dropout removal)

## 3. Frame-by-frame Workflow (optional)
- Frame extraction with Shutter Encoder
- Batch processing with specialized tools:
- Topaz Gigapixel AI for upscaling
- Topaz DeNoise AI for noise reduction
- Topaz Sharpen AI for detail enhancement
- Recomposition into video sequence

## 4. Complete Video Processing
- DaVinci Resolve:
- Primary color correction
- White balance
- Gamma correction
- Temporal noise reduction
- AI Functions:
- Object removal
- Face refinement
- Super scale (with moderation)

## 5. Finishing
- Rendering at 1080p for SD material
- Content-appropriate bitrate
- Modern codecs (H.265/HEVC for archiving)
- Audio cleaning and normalization

## Quality Notes
- Always keep a copy of the unprocessed master
- Avoid over-processing that can introduce artifacts
- Evaluate upscaling needs case by case
- Test on short segments before complete processing

thanks a lot

I viewed the clips you kindly shared on my 27-inch HP LCD PC monitor, and I must say that all three showed satisfactory image quality.
we should also understand if it is possible to somehow convert the 4:3 aspect ratio and adapt it to the format of traditional 1080 and 4k smart TVs, also taking advantage of the latest miraculous technologies linked to AI.
It would be nice to organize our workflows within the forum and make them accessible all the time and not by time.
I was just thinking about something like this divided into sections:

Avi / mepeg source clip the video source used see video recorder camera model.

The tools used for capturing and editing the settings and parameters.

Finally, the encoding parameters and the publication of the final result on the forum.
This from all of us end users and enthusiasts and finally a section linked to the various comments of those who have tested the files produced by us on our smartv monitor televisions with the exception of the old CRTs which in practice are increasingly rare and therefore no longer usable.
what do you think?
The people responsible for black magic design could also be involved in this, I think this could be helpful to many.
ah, I forgot the possibility of also being able to exploit the powerful scripts in davinci resolve studio to automate processes and interface programs, perhaps for this specific case.

sample of script
"DenoiseMode": "Better",
"DeinterlaceMode": "Normal",
"FrameInterpolation": "OpticalFlow"
}

# Apply to selected media
selected = mediaPool.GetCurrentFolder().GetClipList()
for clip in selected:
clip.SetClipProperty("ProcessingSettings", settings)

# Function to apply AI-based face refinement
def apply_face_refinement():
resolve = GetResolve()
fusion = resolve.Fusion()
comp = fusion.NewComp()

# Add Face Refinement node
face_refine = comp.AddTool("FaceRefinement", 0, 0)
face_refine.SmoothAmount = 0.3
face_refine.DetailLevel = 0.7
face_refine.SharpAmount = 0.4

return comp

# Main execution
if _name_ == "_main_":
workflow = create_restoration_workflow()
apply_smart_stabilization()
batch_process_clips()

script generated by super ai claude

hi let me know thanks Marco.

There is a trade off with everything. I have Topaz Ai too but do not use a lot for a few reasons. It is very slow and requires lots of testing to choose the most effective model and parameters. For a special old VHS of a few minutes it is worth it. However if the task is to convert 50, 2 hours tapes to the same level it may take the rest of my life !!! For speed I have found TMPGenc Master Works 7 to do a good job of deinterlacing to double frame rate with interpolation set to high so maintaining temporal motion. That is why I gave two clips one done completely in Resolve, deinterlace using optical flow and then one starting with progressive project for the input using TMPGenc deinterlace. I cannot see much difference but the TMPGenc on fine inspection does a better job around faces. I do not want to change aspect ratio as I want to see the whole 4x3 frame of the original without distortions. In fact I crop into the 4x3 frame to make sure the black bars really do stay black rather than get some effects from any grading I do. Especially true for some of the film transfers I have done and also to remove any line interference on the edges of bottom etc.

My kit is a D8 camcorder for Hi8 etc and a Sony GV-HD700 deck used for DV and for VHS through conversion to DV for capture to PC. Use JVC Super VHS deck for VHS and SVHS tapes that feed the Sony deck. It has a TBC. Use Vegas as capture software as it can control deck too. Also have a Sony DHR1000 DV deck that uses small or large DV tapes.

As to scaling. Feeding my Sony 4K TV with either a 4K file or a 1920x1080 I see no noticeable difference viewing 10 feet away. So I see little advantage in the extra processing to 4K. I am sure one may see a difference but I suspect the up-scaling from HD to 4K in the TV may be superior as it will be specific to the panel.

i have find this video about the conversion.
What's you think about that ?

video is a dead link